WASHINGTON POST BACKS TRUMP’S NIGERIA STRIKES – CALLS THEM “RIGHTEOUS” AND DEMANDS HE STAY ENGAGED
The Washington Post just did something almost unprecedented: praised a Trump military action and demanded more of it.
Saturday editorial: Trump’s strikes against ISIS in Nigeria were “righteous” and a “welcome change.” Then urged him to “remain engaged” in the region.
This is the same editorial board that spent four years opposing nearly everything Trump did. Now they’re writing: “Trump would be wise to remain engaged.”
Here’s why they broke ranks: The Sahel region – stretching from Mauritania through Chad – has become the world’s biggest terrorism epicenter. Half of all global terrorism deaths now occur there.
WaPo’s warning: If Mali falls to JNIM (an al-Qaeda affiliate currently besieging the capital), it would mark the first takeover of a country by an anti-Western Islamic terrorist group since the Taliban took Afghanistan.
That’s the nightmare scenario. And it’s actively happening right now while most Americans have never heard of the Sahel.
ISIS and al-Qaeda didn’t disappear when they lost Iraq and Syria. They migrated to West Africa and found “fertile soil.” Now they control more territory there than they ever held in the Middle East.
The Post admitted something brutal: The U.S. once had the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership. Recent audit showed it was “underfunded, leaderless and mostly ineffective.” Translation: We’ve been ignoring Africa for years while it became the next Afghanistan.
Pentagon’s now considering merging African Command back into European Command – the exact opposite of staying engaged. That’s the bureaucratic equivalent of admitting defeat before the fight.
Nigeria specifically: wealthy by regional standards, but the central government can’t restore security. ISIS cells are systematically massacring Christian communities. The government requested U.S. help because they’re overwhelmed.
WaPo’s argument: Trump’s “America First” advisors want withdrawal from everywhere. But ignoring the Sahel means watching another Taliban-style takeover happen in slow motion while we have the capability to prevent it.
The editorial’s fascinating because it reveals establishment consensus: Even Trump critics recognize that targeted strikes preventing terrorist state formation serve American interests.
This isn’t nation-building. It’s surgical counter-terrorism that costs relatively little but prevents catastrophic outcomes. The Post – which opposed Trump’s Middle East policies – is now saying: This one works, don’t stop.
What changed? Reality. The Sahel’s becoming ungovernable. Christian genocide’s accelerating. Al-Qaeda’s on the verge of capturing a national capital. And precision airstrikes actually work against these threats.
Even the Trump-skeptical foreign policy establishment just admitted: Sometimes military force deployed correctly achieves objectives diplomacy and aid can’t.
The Post concluded with Nigeria willing to cooperate with Washington to “stop the slaughter.” That framing matters. It’s not American intervention – it’s requested assistance against mass killing.
When the Washington Post editorial board tells Trump to keep bombing terrorists, that’s bipartisan strategic consensus achieved through results, not rhetoric.
Source: Washington Post/Fox News